Ash tray and insert therefor



Jy 16, 194%. T. s. P. GRIFFIN 2,208,072

ASH TRAY AND INSERT THEREFOR Filed May 22, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet l July 16, 1940. T. s, GRIFFlN 2,208,072

ASH TRAY AND INSERT THEREFOR Filed May 22, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented July 16, 1940 rrsr f FFICE 1 Elaim.

This invention is an improvement in ash trays, in which the ash tray contains or is provided with deliquescent material for quickly quenching the fire from cigars, cigarettes and pipes.

The user of a cigar or cigarette, when he has smoked it down to the stub, usually tries to extinguish the fire completely by rubbing, pressing or disintegrating the burning end or stub, but in many instances the fire is not completely extinguished, creating a fire hazard and the emanation of obnoxious fumes.

The prior art shows ash trays provided with various absorbent substances which are moistened from time to time and as long as these substances arekept moist, they are an improvement over the ordinary ash tray which is not provided with a moist element. However, ash trays of this sort need to have water supplied to them from time to time, which is quite inconvenient, be-

no cause the absorbent substances 'soon dry out and have to be moistened quite frequently, a duty which the maid in the house is liable to overlook.

According to the present invention, wherein the ash tray is provided with or carries a deliquescent as substance, which has the well-known property of absorbing moisture from the air and keeping itself moist, the deliquescent material in the ash tray is moist all the time, by reason of its property of automatically taking up moisture from the air.

The instant the burning end of a cigar or cigarette is placed on the wet deliquescent substance, the fire is extinguished. The labor and bother of grinding, pressing, oscillating or twisting the stub so is avoided. The fire hazard from smouldering cigar and cigarette stubs is practically eliminated by this invention. It is particularly useful on aircraft, where cigar and cigarette stubs should be extinguished especially if they are thrown overto board. Forest fires have been caused by lighted cigarette stubs dropped from airplanes.

The deliquescent material used may be any one of a number of substances which the chemist recognizes as deliquescent and they may be used 45 in granular or tablet form, either substantially pure or combined with a filler or ,binder; in one aspect of the invention the deliquescent material may be dissolved in a small amount of water and an absorbent wick, disk, or other 'carrier be 60 impregnated with this solution. The excess moisture would evaporate off and the deliquescent material thus distributed through the wick, disk or carrier wouldkeep it moist by virtue of the deliquescent material distributed therethrough.

II In one embodiment, the invention comprises an ash tray which may be made of any suitable material such as wood, glass, metal, porcelain, Bakelite, compressed paper pulp, or the like, or it could be made of some very cheap material, such as pressed fibre, so that after the deliquescent ma- 5 terial has been used up, the tray could be thrown away.

The invention also comprises, in one embodiment, an ash tray made in two parts, the upper part having vertical holes in it leading down to 10 deliquescent material in the lower part of the tray. This upper part may be turned angularly with respect to the lower part to expose fresh portions of deliquescent material, in case the material in use becomes inefficient or contaminated 15 with ash.

The invention will now be described in more detail in connection with the accompanying drawings, showing several types of ash trays made in accordance with the invention. In these draw- 90 ings,

Fig. 1 is a vertical section through an ash tray of this invention;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view of a modification; 25

Fig. 4 is a plan view of another modification;

Fig. 5 is a section on the line 5-5 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a plan view of another modification;

Fig. 'I is a sectional view on the line 'I'I of Fig. 6; 80

iFig. 8 is a plan view of still another modificat on;

Fig. 9 is a plan view of the ash tray of Fig. 8 with the cover plate removed;

Fig. 10 is a bottom plan view of the cover plate; and

Fig. 11 is a sectional view on the line li--ii of Fig. -8. V

Referring now to the drawings, 2 shows an ash tray which may be circular in shape provided 40 with the usual upstanding rim 4 and with one or more vertically extending circular walls 6 defining a central hollow well 8. Within the well 8, which is preferably somewhat larger in diameter than a cigar, there is placed a mass ID of deliquescent material, which may be a deliquescent substance or a mixture of deliquescentsubstances. The deliquescent material may, if desired, be combined with an inert filler or binder such as sand, fullers earth, etc., or itcould be distributed through a fibrous, absorbent carrier made of felt, asbestos or the like. By reason of the fibrous nature of the insert, it is somewhat resilient. If the lighted end of a cigarette or cigar is pressed against the deliquescent material 8, it will be ex- [5 tinguished instantly by reason of the moisture contained therein. There would also be the snuffing out effect of the well formed by the wall 6.-

The tray could also, if desired, be provided with a' disk l2 of some fibrous absorbent material such as felt, asbestos or the, like, impregnated with a deliquescent substance or a. mixture of deliquescent substances which would keep it moist. Such insert has the resilience of felt. This disk I2 would be provided with a central hole H for fitting over the member 6. The well 6 could be omitted entirely, and the disk l2 used to extinguish the cigarette or cigar.

In Fig. 3 the tray 2' there shown is provided with a block I6 of fibrous, absorbent material, such as felt, asbestos or the like, and therefore somewhat resilient, impregnated with a deliquescent substance or a mixture of deliquescent substances. It would keep itself continually moist and if the lighted end of a cigarette. or cigar is pressed against it, this moisture would immediately extinguish the lighted cigarette or cigar.

In the embodiment of the invention shown in Figs. 4 and 5, the ash tray is provided with a thick rim I 8, provided with a series of holes or wells 20, in each of which is a mass of deliquescent material 22, either in the form of a deliquescent salt or a mixture of deliquescent salts, or absorbent material impregnated with deliquescent material. The thickened rim of the ash tray would be provided with any suitable number of such holes 20 distributed around it.

In the modification shown in Fig. 7, the ash tray is provided with a thickened rim 24 having therein a circular groove 26, in which groove is placed a wick 28 of somewhat resilient fibrous or absorbent material impregnated with a deliquescent material. This wick can evidently be readilyrenewed as necessary.

Referring to the modification shown in Figs. 8 to 11, the tray has a thickened rim 30 provided with an annular groove 32 containing a somewhat resilient wick 34 impregnated with a deliquescent material. At spaced intervals along the groove 32 are notches 36.

Cooperating with said grooves and notches is a circular cover plate 38 provided at intervals with lugs 40 spaced apart the same distance that the notches 3B are spaced apart. The annular cover 38 is provided with holes 4! of a diameter slightly greater than the diameter of a cigarette, these holes exposing a section 34' of the wick. The cigarette or cigar would be extinguished as usual by pressing it into one of the holes 40. As the deliquescent material. under the holes becomes used up, the cover plate 38 would be lifted to disengage the lugs 40 from one set of notches 36. and the cover turned, say, about 10, so as to expose a fresh section of wick under each hole and the lugs seated in another set of notches 36. After the entire wick has been used up, the cover plate can be removed and a fresh wick inserted.

As a deliquescent material, I use, for example, any of the well-known chemicals which are recognized to be deliquescent such, for example, as the following:

Sodium bisulfate Sodium hydroxide The tray may be made of any suitable material, such as glass, metal, wood, pressed fiber, Bakelite, compressed paper pulp, etc. Perfume could, if desired, be incorporated with the deliquescent material.

While I have illustrated my invention in some detail, it should be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the specific details here shown, but may be carried out in other ways.

I claim as my invention:

An insert for an ash tray, consisting of a body portion of fibrous absorbent material impregnated with a deliquescent salt, which continually absorbs moisture from the air and keeps moist, such insert also being slightly resilient for forming a depression when the lighted end of a cigar or cigarette is pressed against it, the combined effect of such depression and the moisture giving an instantaneous quenching effect.

THOMAS S. P. GRIFFIN. 

